Watch Night has been observed on New Year’s Eve by African-American Methodists in the US since 1862, to mark the passage of the Emancipation Act. But this religious holiday goes back even farther in history, with even more layers of meaning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. And happy new year to you. This is short stuff with the happy new year edition.
That's right. I believe this is coming out on New Year's Day. So I guess, I mean, that's still happy new year.
Yeah. Happy 2025 to you, Chuck. Yeah. And to you. And to Jerry. Yeah. So it's appropriate that we are talking about Watch Night tonight because it is a longstanding tradition in the African-American community, specifically the African-American Methodist community, that every New Year's Eve, they typically hold a service.
starting maybe around 7 p.m., maybe 10 p.m., and that it traditionally ends just after midnight, after the new year. And the reason that it's so deeply rooted in the African-American community in the United States is because there was what's considered the first watch night in this tradition came on December 31st, 1862.
And the next day, Abraham Lincoln's executive order, known as the Emancipation Proclamation— would come into effect.
That's right. At the stroke of midnight, bringing in that new year was a very special time, obviously, in America. And it was called Freedom Eve for that reason as well. But also watch night because you're watching that clock ticking. Towards freedom.
When they gathered on that first watch night, there were a lot of churches who got together, obviously still legally enslaved people, and they waited. It's a pretty amazing tradition. Beyond that, it celebrates community. It celebrates faith, obviously, and perseverance. There's a description from the African-American Museum
that says, many congregants across the nation bow in prayer minutes before the midnight hour as they sing out, Watchman, Watchman, please tell me the hour of the night. In return, the minister will reply, it is three minutes to midnight. It is one minute before the new year. It is now midnight. Freedom has come.
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